President Donald Trump welcomed Syrian interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa to the White House, marking a potential turning point in U.S.-Syria relations after more than a decade of conflict and sanctions.
The Oval Office session was closed to cameras and reporters, but officials from both sides said Syria's priority is a permanent repeal of the Caesar Act sanctions, while Washington aims to bring Damascus into the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS).
Last May, Trump granted a 180-day waiver on those sanctions during a first meeting with al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia. A full repeal, however, would require Congressional approval – a high-wire act for both U.S. lawmakers and the Syrian leadership.
Meanwhile, back home, Syria's interior authorities have launched a large-scale security operation across several provinces to hunt down IS cells – a move Damascus cites as proof of its commitment to tackling extremism.
Ahead of the Washington talks, the UN Security Council voted to remove al-Sharaa and interim interior minister Anas Khattab from the IS and al-Qaeda sanctions list, a decision swiftly mirrored by the White House.
Al-Sharaa's journey to diplomacy is anything but conventional. Once wanted by the U.S. as a terrorist with a $10 million bounty for his al-Qaeda ties, he severed those connections and led the rebel forces that toppled President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, ending Syria's brutal 14-year civil war.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the talks as part of the president's diplomacy efforts to engage with any global actor in pursuit of peace.
As both capitals weigh the economic and security stakes, Trump and al-Sharaa's face-to-face could signal a new chapter in addressing shared threats – and a reminder that geopolitical foes can become partners under the right circumstances.
Reference(s):
U.S., Syria eye reset as Trump meets al-Sharaa at White House
cgtn.com
